John Leguizamo opened his high energy, raunchy
one man show called Sexaholix ... a Love
Story at the big Orpheum Theatre to an audience of adoring fans. The theater was
bursting at the seams with a rowdy crowd of
Latinos, grungers, frat boys, and sixty-something
first-nighters. This is a happening
rather than a one man show and Leguizamo keeps
up a frantic pace, disco dancing, hip-hopping,
making lewd simulated sexual movements while the
words tumble out of this motor-mouthed Latino
hipster. He packs as many jokes as possible
into his two hour act on the stage, and the crowd
eats it up.

I have always admired Lequizamo as an actor for
such films as Romeo and Juliet, Son of Sam
and the recent Moulin Rouge. The first time I
saw John was in New York in Spic-O-Rama and it was clear he would be a star of the first order.
Leguizamo toured his second show Freak here
for its pre-Broadway run in a smaller house. That show
was more mellow for general theatergoers than this
current all out, no-holds-barred version of his life.

The high energy starts almost immediately as, to the heavy Latin rock
music booming from the loudspeakers, John comes
boogying out onto the big stage in his trademark
tight jeans, white tank top and a leather jacket which he
later removes. Leguizamo starts his monologue by saying,
"Wassup, San Francisco?" and the yelling and screaming
audience answers him back. He says the show will be
raunchy and that it is. He shows how various ethnic
Latino groups disco, going from Cuban to Dominican to
his native Columbia, and even shows how "the white folks"
boogie. It's a hilarious opening.

Sexaholix was the name of his high school gang who
were always chasing girls, hoping for sex. He goes into
great detail about a high school girl he tried to entice
into a seduction, but he always struck out. John talks
about his present life with his live-in girlfriend, whom
the comic says he'll never marry because he loves her too
much. His parents divorced and he himself is divorced.

Leguizamo presents his show on a bare stage with a stool.
There is a floor to ceiling string of round lights hanging
in the background. The lights are sometimes blinding white
and other times muted pink and yellow depending on the mood
of the artist. He does get serious several times, especially
when he talks about his grandfather's death and funeral.
However, there's always a funny side to these stories.

At the beginning of the second act, he is in the aisle
disco dancing with a member of the audience. John
probably can describe himself better then I can. He
says he is a, "self-absorbed, insecure, egomaniacal,
sexaholic actor who was 'damaged' as a child."